Mercator Lines

Mercator Lines deals in marine transportation of crude oil throughout the world and it has pioneered the latest technological advancements in the shipping industry. The company guarantees to provide its customers with fast, effective, and economical shipping solutions.

Expansion Plans of Mercator Lines:

Mercator Lines is all set to enter the foreign market for oil exploration and is already dealing in the support services. The company is undergoing through the official formalities to buy a drilling rig costing US$ 180 million.

The intention of marketing its rigs and assets has led the company to join the oil exploration market with the help of its sister concern Mercator Oil & Gas Ltd. The company is also considering plans to capture the construction sector by designing platforms and pipelines.

Mercator Lines' Associations with Other Companies:

Mercator Lines has collaborated with Luke Oil, one of the most significant companies that has made its mark in the Russian oil market to offer technical support in the installation as well as working of the jack-up rig which is supposed to arrive by the first half of 2009. Mercator Lines has recently announced that Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. has entered into a contract with it for the shipment of crude oil amounting to 12 million tons and has allotted a time limit of 1.3 years. The shipment is calculated to cost around ` 200 crore.

Latest Financial Figures

(Figures in Rs. Crores)

ET 500 Rank(2011)

208

Industry

Shipping

Turnover

3280.56

Profit after Tax(PAT)

46.85

MCAP (Market Capitalization)

609.35

Assets

5919.93

Mercator Lines and the Rig Market:

The immense demand for rigs in the Indian Oil exploration market has made Mercator Lines follow Great Eastern Shipping and Jindal Offshore in the acquisition of rigs. The lucrative returns from the acquisition of rigs are estimated to be as high as US$ 260,000 per day. Mercator Lines is planning to hire rigs from foreign companies to exploit the rig market in India, as it is has turned out to be a substantial market for rigs. Foreign companies such as Transocean dealing in offshore drilling are considering plans to increase the rates of rigs. The work of drilling rigs is going on at a rapid scale presently and the most of the wells among the 218 allotted by the Indian government to be used for drilling have been utilized.

Performance of Mercator Lines:

The financial reports of the current year as declared by Mercator Lines are quite impressive since a marked improvement can be witnessed in all the sections of the report. The figure for net sales calculated on the basis of 12 months show that it has increased from ` 6218.60 million to ` 7832.63 million. The cost of goods sold delineate substantial rise from ` 3107.94 million to ` 5726.97 million and the total income has jumped from ` 6218.60 million to ` 8084.75 million.